Collapsible boat



July 4, 1933. E. MILLER 1,916,486

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Filed July 27, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet l Invenlor /I Home y 4 July 4, 1933. i LLER 1,916,486

COLLAPSIBLE BOAT Filed July 27, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet' 2 Inventor E. MILLER COLLAPSIBLE BOAT July 4, 1933.

Filed July 27, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Inventor Erna d7 MH/Ner f1 llorney Patented July 4, 1933 V v .ve'nt ion' willjbeco'me more rea'dilyapparent' from the ffollowing description and draw UNI-TED STA "ERNEST R, 0 BREMERTOE'WASHINGTON" I i 7 GOLLAJPSIBLE BOAT I Ap nation, filedpJuly 27,

f This invention relates to an improved knock-down or collapsible boat of the flat bottoin type'having its-sternconstructed'to accommodatean out board;motor."

Briefly stated,ltheimproved boat is char acterized by a sectional bottom composed of a plurality of separably connected planks, together with a skeleton frame work made up of sectional'railswherein the .rail sections areprovided with longitudinally spaced ribs or stakes having their-lower ends constructed forreception in sockets provided therefor in the bottomboards or planks." p

' In'accordance with the principles of the oiencyf."constituting a novel contribution; to the trade and the art due tothe particular selection and co -ordination of to makeup the "complete boat. 7

Other, features and advantages of the inparts serving i gs. 7, In' the drawings FigurelI 's aperspective view of the com plete boat as designed and'constructed in ac A cordance with r the principles of the present -"Fig'ure3is-a-, side elevation withthe canvas p i V v I Th rib asshow'n in Figure 9 are formed inventiong', .T-Figure 2 is a top plan; view thereof,

c'overingremoved. V

("F r 4 i 7 taken approximately on the plane of the line niately on the planeof the line 5'5 of Figure 2.,- 1

' .Fi reo is a detail view of the turnbuckle connection betweenjtherail-sections,

. Figures 7 j 8' are detail perspective views liigd reft) is a detail viewfofone ofthe'sidi gvr i r Referring now to the drawings by distininventive conception, Iprovide a detachablecanvas coverlng made to provlde a subst'an- Myjpri'mary ideais to generally improve and co acting facing and rei'nforcing plates 28, and thesesocketsare adapteditofreceive,

1s a central cross sectional J'view Figure '5.is a detail section taken approizi- 1932.] se ri'al M6259;

Qguishing reference numerals it will'be observed, as before indicated, that the flat bot-' tom is made up of a plurality ofb'oards or planks' 10 hingedly or OthQIWlTSGLCOIlIlGClZGd t together. The abutting inner endsare jointed togetherat the points 11 and12 in Figure 2.* V c Attached to the-rear'rend of the "bottom' are complemental clips 13 and letconstructed and arranged to accommodate the stern which is composed of a pair of hingedly connected' boards 15and 16.' These boards are provided with retaining cleats 17 and; 18 for a removable reinforcing board 19' held again st displacement by-su'itable fasteners 1 "Inaddition tojserving as a reinforcing'ele j ment this board serves as a suitable mount 1 ing for an outboard motorj(not shown).- The frontal keel, forming member is denoted by' thenumeral2l iand isghingedly attached in placeas'jindicatedjat' 22, The', rail is, com:

posed of three distinguishable sections,vthe frontal" section being denoted by. the numer a123-andbeing of general horseshoe shaped a t portion attachedasat I formwith to theikeel strip, 21.

its apex j The arm portions of this section are joined byturnbuckles" 25 to the complemental rail members-26 whichare in turn hingedly connected as at 27 to the stern. lAround its marginal edgethe bottom is formed with a yplurality'of' longitudinally spaced socketsthe lower ends .of adj acent ribs 29; s

with strap hangers 3O embracing and suspended fromftheadjacentrails and at the lower ends'are provided with reinforcing ferrules to: fit. down into thesockets." This arrangement facilitates dismantling of the rails and ribs andfcollapsing of the keel, stern, and sectional botto f I next call, attention. to', -the numerals 31 which designate transverse longitudinally spaced'rigidly attached jointing keep'ers,;.each 'keeper being' in'the form @ofan angle iron" "whose vertical flange is provided "with; a 10 down-turned confining lip 32'for reception braces shaped of the vertical flange of a companion crosstie iron 33. This part 33 is a detachable member and is simply slipped beneath the lip of the alined keepers 31 as shown in Fig ure 2 and held in place by suitable turnbuttons 34 pivotally attached to the boards in a position to swing over the horizontal flange of the tie iron.

The numeral 35 designates the canvascovering which underlies the bottom board covering the joints between said boards and is shaped to provide the upstanding side walls 36 to terminate in a plane substantially even.

with the rails. The canvas may be fastened to the rails by separable fasteners or to the ribs whichever is preferred so that it 'may be removed when desired.

The numeral 37 in Figure 1 designates a rear seat board having suspension hooks 38 to engage over the adjacent rails 26. The numeral 39 designates a central seat having similar suspension hooks 40 and corner and arranged to bear against the rails on opposite sides of the hooks, said braces servinga's stays and being indicated by the numerals 41. The numerals 42 mercly designate oar locks and the numeral 43 designates a multiple ply reinforcing member for the side walls of the canvas covering.

Attention is also called to the numeral 44 in Figures 2 and 3 which designates an adjusting bolt for heel member 21.

7 It is submitted that a collapsible or knockdown boat of the type herein illustrated and described constitutes a novel contribution to the trade and the art to which the invention relates. It is believed that it will supersede similar structures and that it has been unequalled in the art. It is practical, modern, economical, sturdy, and otherwise susceptible of fulfilling the requirements of a structure of this type;

Particularly is it useful and novel in that it may be erected or disassembled readily and without special tools. When collapsed it provides a compact and convenient structure for expeditious handling and transportation pur oses.

It is thought that the description taken in connection with the drawings will. enable a clear understanding ofthe invention to be had. Therefore, a morellengthy description is thought unnecessary. While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that minor changes coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to if desired. 3 V

I claim:

1. Aboat of the'class (ilescribedcomprising a sectional bottom, a sectional stern, a hingedly attached keel member, a rail comprising a frontal section hingedly attached to said keel member, and spaced parallel rear end members hingedly attached to said stern,

all of said rail members being separably longitudinally spaced ribs 1 joined together,

carried by said rail members and detachably connected with the marginal portion of said 7 said keel memberand spaced parallel rear end members hingedly attached to said stern, all of said rail members being separably ]O1I1QCl together, longitudinally spaced ribs carried by said rail members and detachably connected with the marginal portion of said bottom, together-with a removable canvas covering, said covering serving to cover the underside of the bottom and shaped to define properly shaped side and end walls.

3. A boat of the class described comprising a sectional bottom, a sectional stern, a hingedly attached'keel member, a rail comprising a frontal section hingedlyattached to said keel member and spaced parallel rear end members hingedly attached to said stern, all

of said rail members being separably joined together, longitudinally spaced ribs carried by said rail members and detachably con nected with the marginalportion of said bottom, together with a removable canvas covering, said covering serving to cover the underside of the bottom and shaped to define properly shaped side and end walls, said stern being provided with cleats, a 'removable'reinforcing and motor mounting boardfitted in said cleats, and fastening and retaining means for said board. 7

t. A collapsible boat comprising a substantially flat bottom composed of a plurality of detachably connected planks, said planks being provided withlongitudinally spaced transverse keeper irons, each iron having a down-turned retaining of the classdescribed lip, a tie iron for each series of cleats, said tie iron spanning the upper faces of the planks and having its vertical flange engaged .beneath said lip, turnbuttons on said planks for holdingsaid tie iron in place. 7 H i 5. A collapsible boat of the class described comprising a substantially flat bottom composed of a plurality of detachably connected planks, said planks being provided withlongitudinally spaced transverse keeper irons, each iron having a down-turned retaining lip, a tie iron for each series of cleats, said tie iron spanning the upper faces of said planks and having its vertical flange engaged beneath said lip, turnbuttons on said planks for holding said tie iron in place,'said bottom being rear-end of the bottom, a keel forming member attached to the front end of the bottom, a sectional rail composed of detachablycon nected sections, said sections being connected formed with marginal retention sock- I ets, a stern forming board attached to the to the sternand keel members respectively,

. 6. Acollapsible boat of the class described comprising a substantially flat bottom com posed of a plurality of detachably connected planks, said planks being provided with longitudinallv spaced transverse keeperirons,

.each iron having a down-turned retaining lip, a tie iron for each series of cleats, said tie iron spanmng the upper faces of sa d planks and having its vertical flange engaged beneath said lip, turnbuttons on saidplanks'for' holding said tie iron in place, said bottom being formed With, marginal retention socks ets, a stern forming board attached to the rear endof-thebottom, a keel forming member attached to the front end of the bottom, a sectional rail composed of detachably connected sections,.said sections being connected to the stern and keel members'respectively,

a plurality of longitudinally spaced ribs car- 7 ried by said rail members and having their lower ends removably receivable insaid re tention sockets, a canvas covering for the bot-,

tom, said covering being shaped to provide side and end Walls.

7 A collapsible boat ofthe class described planks,'said planks being provided with'longitudinally spaced transverse keeper irons,-

each iron having a down-turned retaining lip,

iron" spanning the upper faces of said planks and having its vertical flange engaged be- 7 l" neath said lip, turnbuttons onsaid planks for being formed with marginal'retention sockets,'a stern forming board attached to the rear end of the bottom, a keel forming member attached to the front end, of the bottom,

a sectional rail composed of detachably connected sect1ons,sa1d;sect1ons being connected to the stern and keel members respectively,

comprising a substantially flat bottom composed of a plurality of detachablyconnected "a tie iron for each series of cleats, said tie a'plurality of longitudinally ,sp'acedribs carried by said rail members andhaving their lower endsremovably recelvable insaid retention sockets, a canvas covering for the botQ tom, said coveringbeing shaped to provide side and end Walls, and a removable seat havsuspension hooks and stay members being engageable with the adjacent portions ofthe aforesaid. rail members.

v Intestimony whereof Iaflix my signature. v

ERNEST MILLER.

, lie 7 mg suspension'hooks and stay members, said holding said tie iron in place, said bottom T3 

